


the kids are alright

by ackermanx



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Gen, Other Characters Are Mentioned, inspired by a twitter shitpost
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-03-02 18:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13323834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ackermanx/pseuds/ackermanx
Summary: "Wait, but I've got it all figured out! You 'n Inigo carry me into the armory, I'll shapeshift, and when Frederick comes by later to inspect everything, he'll find me, and that'll be all. Really!"





	the kids are alright

**Author's Note:**

> based off of the iconic post that goes
> 
> "If you're a shapeshifter: 1) get into a place that horses shouldn't be able to get into 2) turn into a horse"

When Owain first finds out that he's able to shapeshift, Inigo is the first person that he tells.

 

More specifically, he runs over to Inigo's house in a fit of excitement, nearly tripping over every single pebble in the road and startling Henry out of his experiments.

 

"Whoa, there!" Henry catches Owain by his armpits, lifting the overly excitable boy before he can knock over anything valuable. "What's got you in such a hurry, little guy? Changed your mind about being my partner for my experiments?"

 

"Hi, Uncle Henry!"

 

Already more than used to the strange mannerisms of the white-haired mage, Owain simply beams up at him. "Is Inigo here? I gotta show him something cool!"

 

"I don't know, is he?"

 

Henry taps his chin, pretending to be lost in thought. "Maybe he's outside with Olivia. Maybe he's practicing in his room! Or maaaybe - "

 

Henry's arms release Owain and dart behind a nearby chair. Giggle erupt from it -  _oh! There Inigo is!_ Owain thinks happily - and the head of one of Owain's best friends peeks out.

 

"Owain! Thought I heard your voice, but I wanted to come out and check first. Before  _Dad_ blew my cover."

 

Inigo fully emerges from his hiding place, striding into the center of the room and sticking out a tongue at Henry.

 

"You're growing into a cheeky little thing, aren't you!" Henry leans over to ruffle Inigo's hair affectionately, then stands up.

 

"Alrighty, you two can go out and play or whatever! Leave little ol' me to finish off some adult things."

 

Owain and Inigo sit completely still, eyes trained on Henry as he picks up his tomes, practically skips out of the living room, and mutters something that sounds like "kids these days! nyahaha, how nice!"

 

The second that they lose sight of Henry, Owain takes Inigo's hands and drags him towards the door. Inigo lets out a little squeak of surprise, but otherwise is too breathless to say anything until they reach a nice empty field, nowhere near civilization (with the exception of perhaps a few stray cows).

 

"Well, what is it?" Inigo whines, out of breath and tugging on Owain's sleeve. "It's weird being so far out."

 

"This won't take long, don't worry!"

 

Owain runs a little ways off, practically vibrating with anticipation, and yells "watch this!"

 

He squeezes his eyes shut, face screwed up in concentration, and grins in pride when he feels a pair of wings pop out from his shoulder blades.

 

Inigo can only stare, eyes wide and mouth gaping in amazement. " _Whoa_ , how did you do that? How long have you known? Does...does Uncle Lon'qu...?"

 

"He doesn't know yet, nope!"

 

Making his wings disappear with a loud  _pop_ , Owain jogs back to Inigo's side. "I was thinking I could get one last surprise in before all the adults find out. So, listen..."

 

* * *

 

 

"It's a terrible idea. You're  _going_ to get caught."

 

 _Party pooper,_ Inigo mouths, but Severa just glares at him.

 

"But we're kids! It'll be fine, maybe."

 

Owain can practically feel himself grasping at air, trying to come up with reasons why Severa should join in their, in reality, probably doomed venture. "And if - if your mom tries to get you in trouble, you can just say it was all my fault!"

 

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna need a little more reassurance than that."

 

"Wait, but I've got it all figured out! You 'n Inigo carry me into the armory, I'll shapeshift, and when Frederick comes by later to inspect everything, he'll find me, and that'll be all. Really!"

 

"Really? Both of you are sure this will work."

 

Squinting, Severa shifts her gaze back and forth between Owain and Inigo, trying to find a hint of doubt in either of their eyes. But all Owain does is grin expectantly and all Inigo does is widen his eyes and shrug, so Severa sighs and gives in.

 

"You know what? Fine. But only if you idiots let me plan, too. I'm not going down on a ship that I had no say in."

 

"Wouldn't  _dream_ of leaving you out," Inigo says in a tone that Severa finds highly suspicious, but she can't find the energy to really care at the moment, so she just lets it go with a snort.

 

"Yeah, yeah. So when do we start?"

 

* * *

 

 

"Eagle One is in position. I repeat, Eagle One is in position."

 

" _Dude_ ," Inigo whispers. "Stop talking. You're making us look really suspicious."

 

Owain opens his mouth to argue, then reconsiders his position. Stuck in a closed cloth bag; being carried by someone (Severa) who would drop him with zero qualms; unable to do anything, really, without giving their whole plan away.

 

"Eagle One, out," he whispers, wiggling his hands to get a little more feeling back into them. "Tell me when you get there, I wanna go out in  _style_."

 

All he gets in response is a particularly violent jostle, but Owain grins and settles back down anyway.

 

It takes a surprisingly short and quiet trip (with only Inigo's sudden outburst of "hi, Miss Cherche!" to break the silence) before Owain is unceremoniously dropped onto a cold stone floor. Disoriented, he paws at the fabric around his head until it's free, and blinks up at a wide-eyed Inigo and a surprisingly relieved Severa.

 

"Man," Owain sighs. "There goes my entrance."

 

* * *

 

 

"So, uh, I don't actually know what the situation is, because it was way too easy to get in here. No one stopped us to ask what we were doing. Isn't that a little too easy?"

 

"...Maybe, but no one could suspect this, right? C'mon, Severa, don't look at me like th - "

 

"Shut up, both of you! There's someone coming!"

 

* * *

 

 

It wasn't strange that Lord Chrom wanted to spar. In fact, it happened so often that Robin would often be forced to supervise him to make sure that he did at least  _some_ of his paperwork.

 

What  _was_ strange was Lord Chrom wanting to spar indoor, instead of in the courtyard like he usually would.

 

And oh, Frederick had warned Chrom that it was potentially dangerous for him to do any sort of fighting indoors, especially given his track record of knocking down things and creating new holes where there weren't supposed to be any in the first place. But if there was anything to be said about Ylisse's new ruler, it was that once he got an idea into his head, he wouldn't leave it alone until its completion.

 

So here Frederick was, on his way to the armory, ready to sharpen a few swords and...fortify the place as needed, as much as possible.

 

Sighing, he turns towards the wall of spears, running his fingers over every one and trying to remember what sort of weapon Sully liked to use. Her personal spear was out of the question - it wouldn't be proper for it to break during practice, not battle. Something on the heavier side, and with a good reach...

 

A flash of movement in the corner of Frederick's eye catches his attention and he stills, trying to catch the sound of the intruder's breathing. When he does catch a snort, he grabs a spear at random and whirls around -

 

Only to use every muscle in his body to restrain himself from plunging said spear into the eye of a horse -

 

Wait. A horse?

 

Frederick lowers his weapon and squints closer at the animal, which simply opens and closes its mouth and stares back. There was absolutely no way a horse could have wandered into the castle's territory undetected all by itself, and an even slimmer chance that it could have fit through the door that, really, could barely fit Frederick himself in full armor.

 

Unless, of course, it wasn't really a horse at all.

 

Careful not to cause too much pain, Frederick reaches forward and grabs a fistful of mane. As he jerks it upward, the horse starts to shift in his grasp, eventually settling on the form of a very small, very blond, very naked boy.

 

"Hi, Frederick!" he chirps. "Nice weather we have today, isn't it?"

 

* * *

 

 

"I...don't know. I really don't know. How is anyone supposed to deal with something like this?"

 

Chrom's shoulders shake with barely contained laughter, Lissa's right eyebrow twitches, and Sully's forced to hide her snorts through well-timed bouts of coughing.

 

"Milord," Frederick cuts in as delicately as he can. "They were  _tresspassing._ "

 

"I understand that you are concerned with my safety, but all members of the Shepherds and their children are and will always be welcome within the palace. I trust them."

 

"Yes, but..."

 

Frederick puts a hand up in an attempt to block his words from the children's sight, mouthing  _he was a horse_ at Chrom.

 

Sully chokes, then gives up on trying to act proper and explodes in full-blown laughter.

 

Lissa follows soon after, doubling over and wheezing through each breath; even Chrom starts to give in, chortling despite himself.

 

Owain, Inigo, and Sever exchange shocked glances, and Frederick just looks full-on offended.

 

"My - My apologies, Frederick, I simply - " Chrom gasps, attempting to pull himself together. "It's so rare to see you get this flustered - normally you just fuss, but never like this - oh, don't look at me like that, I assure you that your pride's still intact."

 

"Alright, I admit that perhaps I made a bigger deal out of all this than I should have. But..."

 

"You're right." Chrom clears his throat and turns to properly face the trio. "Owain, why didn't you tell us you could shapeshift?"

 

"Well...I was gonna, I promise!" Looking back at Inigo (who just widens his eyes rather unhelpfully), Owain raises his hands in defeat. "But I wanted to do something fun with it first, and...it wasn't Inigo's or Severa's fault! I, uh, sorta dragged them into it. Sorry."

 

A heavy silence falls over the group, and suddenly Owain is afraid of what he's done.

 

"Ah, what the hell. You're all still kids, aren't you?" Sully finally pipes up "Hey, Chrom, mind if I butt in for a sec?"

 

"Huh? No, of course not, this isn't a royals-only duty, go right ahead."

 

"Alright, c'mere kids."

 

Grinning, Sully kneels down and gestures for the children to come closer. "Now I don't want to get you guys into too much trouble, 'cause I understand how it is when you're young. Hell, Lissa here used to scare Robin half to death with her pranks!"

 

Owain giggles despite trying to stay serious, because oh, he had heard  _all_ about Mother's youth. Mostly from other people as they visited, because apparently it was commonplace to hold decade-old grudges over a few frogs down a shirt - 

 

Then Sully whirls to face him, and Owain immediately shuts his mouth.

 

"You first, Sir Owain. No more unauthorized shapeshifting, and as soon as you get home, I want you to tell your dad about everything. Okay?"

 

"Th - That's it?" With wide eyes, Owain stares at Sully. "Yes, ma'am!"

 

"That's a good boy. Inigo, uh, don't tell Henry about this yet, because he might literally die of excitement."

 

Inigo nods, a vaguely worried look in his eyes.

 

"And Severa, tell me if those boys bother you again. They're all just big troublemakers."

 

"I can handle them by myself, but thanks," Severa says with her chin tilted up, but lets the corners of her mouth curl up when Sully winks at her.

 

"Got to all three of you, did I? Now scram, before I change my mind!"

 

Chrom watches in awe as the trio hurries off, whispering amongst themselves. "You...wow, you'd make a pretty good parent."

 

"Nah, they're just good kids deep down."

 

Sully straightens back up, yawning.

 

"So how about that spar, old pal? Still up for it?"

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on twitter @axlotlols


End file.
